Practice Makes Perfect
by bandanaye
Summary: Hiding in the bathroom cupboard wasn't exactly what he'd call mature, but it was all he could manage at the moment. One-shot. SxC


Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji

Practice Makes Perfect

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><p>"Ciiieel! Ciiieel! Ciel, where are you?"<p>

The young girl with springy pigtails walked slowly down one of the countless hallways, looking left to right with a confused look on her face.

Had she done something wrong? Did she embarrass him? She had never seen him look so flustered and had _never_ seen her ever serious fiancé run away like that.

"_I…I need to check something first, Lizzie. Berightback."_

Another door opened and a new empty room revealed itself. Elizabeth frowned with disappointment, but was ever determined to find Ciel. Putting her hands on her hips and smiling to cheer herself up, the flamboyant girl instantly realized that Ciel was probably just playing a game with her.

"I'll find you yet, Ciel. I know _all_ your hiding places!" she boasted proudly, skipping down the hallway, creating a list in her mind of places to look.

A while later, Elizabeth found herself in the drawing room. She was getting a little impatient, but she wouldn't give up! Tapping her lips with a gloved finger, she thought long and hard of places she must have missed.

"The kitchen, the game room, Ciel's room, the laundry room, the study, Ciel's office, the sitting room, the library, the music room…and all those bedrooms!" Elizabeth listed, counting her fingers. "Even all those secret passages and closets! Hmm…where could he be?"

"My Lady?"

At the familiar voice, the young girl turned, her face beaming. "Sebastian! You could help me!" She ran up to give the butler a hug, which Sebastian merely smiled at.

"Do you require assistance, my Lady?"

Green eyes flashed up eagerly as Elizabeth stood back, her hands clamping together. "Oh Sebastian! I can't find Ciel anywhere; could you help me find him? Pleeaase? He looked so cute today too!"

That kind smile remained on the pale butler's face, giving Elizabeth some hope that Ciel would be found that much faster. "Of course my Lady. His schedule was cleared up for your visit, so he should be with you this afternoon."

Elizabeth clapped happily at that, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Oh thank you, Sebastian! I promise I'll get something cute for you when I go to London next." She gave him one last quick hug before dashing out of the room, a rather loud exclamation of "the garden!" echoing behind her.

Meanwhile, still in the drawing room and looking at his pocket watch, Sebastian's smile widened as he shook his head.

"Where oh where could you be, Young Master?"

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><p>Ciel exhaled as quietly as he could when he was sure Elizabeth was far away. Then he felt silly. Hiding in the bathroom cupboard wasn't exactly what he'd call mature, but it was all he could manage at the moment.<p>

Stuffed in with towels and sponges as he sat in the bottom shelf, Ciel wondered if he could chance unhooking the latch and opening the door so that he could stretch his legs. And maybe see light.

But that foolish fear haunted him that the minute he did, Elizabeth would be back and try to…to…

He had never felt so embarrassed in his life. That type of thing was supposed to be easy, especially when it came to Elizabeth. She was his fiancée for crying out loud. Why on earth did he freeze up like that?

Well, he knew one thing. That one embarrassment would only lead to a bigger one if anyone found out.

After another minute or two, Ciel became fed up and twisted to reach for the cupboard's latch, but stopped short on account of hearing his personal bathroom's door creak open again, footsteps clicking against the tile.

He froze, thinking that it was Elizabeth for a second time, but he thought again when he didn't hear his name called out. Instead, he felt his stomach drop uncomfortably when he realized that it could be only one other person.

'Shit. He's never going to let me live this down.'

The two large cupboard doors swung open, Ciel temporarily blinded by the sunlight that instantly hit his face. Then that familiar silhouette came into view, all his organs dropping down to his toes as he stared up at his butler.

"Aren't you a little too old to be hiding in a place such as this?" Sebastian questioned in an almost amused voice, cocking an eyebrow.

Still crunched up between the towels and sponges, Ciel tried to look dignified, but it sadly didn't work. He was currently hunched over, his head resting sideways atop his knees that were pulled up to his chest. It was a game where he had to choose his words wisely now if he didn't want any more humiliation. Choosing to do _something_, he took to awkwardly getting himself unstuck and onto both feet.

He felt a little better when he was upright without the help of Sebastian. But his butler was expecting some kind of response, and Ciel knew that the other didn't have all day to wait.

"I was merely going over some things," Ciel finally announced, tilting his chin up in what he hoped would look like confidence.

Sebastian's head tilted and an inquisitive finger rested against his chin. "In your washroom cupboard? How…improper." A smirk was just itching to take its place on his lips. "May I ask what you were 'going over'?"

His hands were clenched as he looked Sebastian squarely in the eye, not wanting to give anything away as he steadfastly said, "It's none of your business."

"Well then, I suppose it would be in your best interest to return to Lady Elizabeth. She's starting to worry about you, Young Master."

Ciel felt his face heat up, and he accidentally let a grunt of sorts escape from the back of his throat. He tried to keep himself composed when he noticed Sebastian shifting his weight, eventually kneeling down before him.

"Is something bothering you, Young Master?" Ciel could see the amusement and curiosity past the mask of fake concern.

"You know how Elizabeth can get." The words tumbled out unchecked and Ciel cursed himself for the slip that made his dilemma that much more interesting and clearer to Sebastian.

The butler's smirk had been set free, and Sebastian tilted his head to the side a little as he stared at his master, attempting to find the answer. "Of course, that's quite understandable. Has she made you uncomfortable again?" Ciel visibly tensed, wordlessly answering his question. "Perhaps I can help you…?" he ventured, trying to get a response out of his clamped up master.

"I hardly doubt you could," Ciel replied, his obvious blush growing that much darker. Sebastian held back a chuckle, his suspicions narrowing down. "No matter how much you call yourself 'one hell of a butler', I don't think you can help me with this."

"Well, that depends on what the 'this' is, does it not, Young Master?" Sebastian countered, watching Ciel frown. "I promise I won't tell." For the added affect, he put a gloved finger over his curved lips.

Ciel wanted to bolt again, but he wouldn't dare do that in front of Sebastian. He was going to be teased for a while with just the cupboard scene, and he certainly didn't want the other getting even more conceited around him if he admitted everything. He involuntarily clenched his fists tighter, striving to decide on his next move.

"Practice would make perfect, Young Master."

His uncovered blue eye widened as he was jerked out of his musing. He stared at Sebastian in disbelief, his stomach doing flips as he tried to tell himself that the other didn't know what he was talking about.

"Sebastian…you-" Ciel stammered, backing up as his butler rose a little and inched toward him, an all-knowing look on his face now.

"Humans are so easy to read. You give everything away with that red face of yours, Young Master," Sebastian said bluntly, a hand landing delicately on Ciel's shoulder, freezing the smaller on the spot with his simple touch.

Sebastian knew, and Ciel felt utterly embarrassed. All his cards were on the table, and he hadn't even been the one to throw them down. "Fine, but you still can't help me," he tried to say coldly, but there was a stutter in his voice.

That gloved hand slid slowly up his neck and cupped his face. Sebastian was suddenly too close for comfort, but Ciel couldn't move. His body felt a tingling sensation that he expected to be nervousness, yet it was all abruptly gone and replaced with a warm feeling as lips met his own.

He didn't realize that he had screwed his eyes shut, or that the kiss had only lasted a few seconds. Ciel felt confused for a couple moments as he stared up at the now standing Sebastian.

"I hope that I was of some assistance," Sebastian said, pulling his gloves tighter against his hands. "Unless you require further instruction…"

Ciel could feel his face heat up for the umpteenth time at the smugness and what he could only guess to be innuendo slipping through Sebastian's remark. However, a small voice in the back of his head knew that his butler had certainly opened up a window of curiosity, and he restlessly tried to keep it at bay.

Feeling a little disoriented as he tried to sort these new issues out, Ciel was harshly reminded that he should return to Elizabeth, no matter how dreadful that fact was. Straightening and forcing himself to look Sebastian in the eye, Ciel merely ordered as sternly as he could, "Elizabeth and I will take a sweet snack in the garden." His nerves fluttered as he walked past his butler and opened the bathroom door, stopping in mid-step as another thought occurred to him.

Damn his hormones and curiosity. Swallowing his pride, he managed to say lowly, almost a whisper, "And after dinner, you will…show me more on this subject."

A mixed feeling of anticipation and regret suddenly quarreled in his gut, but he was able to leave the room before his servant replied in a most suggestive tone, "Yes, my Lord."

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><p>AN: 'snot like Sebastian's "my lord" isn't suggestive enough ^-^ Thanks for reading, and any feedback would be appreciated!


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